Highlight the organic shapes of fall with these simple decorations. Showcase bright red, gold and orange leaves in float frames for a truly dramatic silhouette. A tall vase brimming with bittersweet branches adds height to the mantel.

Brown-painted crafts store letters spell out fall in a display for a mantel or shelf. Cover one letter with a glass cloche and elevate two other letters on glass cake plates of different heights. Accent with fall leaves, berries or gourds if you like.

Make these nostalgic-looking fall decorations in just minutes with a few everyday materials. Print the name of a leaf on neutral cardstock, or use stick-on letters from a scrapbooking store. Glue a pressed leaf to the cardstock. Create a frame by attaching twigs to the edge of the cardstock.

We can't resist a little skin-crawling fun! Plastic spiders wander over pumpkins draped in ripped cheesecloth. “Hairy” cording feels a bit like a spider’s trail on another. Add a faux crow, and you’ve set the proper spooky mood for Halloween.

Bring autumn to your table or mantel by showing off gourds in cylindrical vases. Use containers of different sizes, and stack varying numbers of gourds. Add a pretty curving touch with a length of fresh pumpkin vine or another fresh or artificial vine.

Hang leaves on S-hooks (used for jewelry making and found at crafts stores) or pin to a ribbon. Suspend ribbon from two nails, draping it loosely across the center. Anchor the display with a branch of brightly colored berries at the frame base and setting small gourds in eggcups.

Trade the usual fresh gourds for jewel-tone painted dried ones. Start with dried gourds in varying sizes. (If not available locally, try amishgourds.com[36].) For crisp lines, apply painter’s tape around the middle of a gourd. Paint half of the gourd with latex wall paint and remove tape when dry. For a drippy effect, pour 1⁄4 cup paint into a resealable plastic storage bag. Snip a corner to drizzle paint around the middle of a gourd (like piping frosting). Using a foam brush, carefully extend paint up from the drips, adding additional paint as necessary, to reach one end of the gourd. Pile painted gourds on a mantel or shelf or in decorative bowls.

Give a traditional vase of roses a fall makeover by adding red and gold leaves. Put the vase on a cake stand to add height, and scatter a few small pumpkins or gourds on the stand to complete the autumn display.

Show off autumn colors in a photo display. Select several photos with varying compositions of autumn leaves, fruits and plants. Emphasize bright fall colors with plain white matting. Rest one or two frames on the mantel and hang the rest.

Pots of moss bring a touch of green indoors and work well with both autumn and winter holiday mantel arrangements. We scattered pinecones around the pots for a fall feel. A clothesline along the mantel can hold leaves in early fall; as winter approaches, change out the look by adding mittens or snowflakes.

This mantel highlights serene green and natural tones. The framed plant sketch ties together both the natural and neutral aspects of the mantel. Rest art on the mantle to avoid new wall holes for seasonal decorating. Potted plants add height and a pop of color.

A nature calendar inspired this scheme. Two calendar pages provide background for the focal point a knotty branch. Green moss balls, candles and vases filled with dried foliage bookend the arrangement.